The Fulton County Tax Commissioner recently mailed more than more than 320,000 property assessment notices. This year’s assessments reflect significant valuation increases in many areas in the county. Some neighborhoods like Collier Hills are seeing 45% across the board hikes!
Property owners who disagree with the current year value on their assessment notice have a 45-day appeal window that ends July 10. Written appeals may be based on taxability, value, uniformity, and/or the denial of an exemption.
- Contact Your County Commissioner to voice your opposition to a tax increase and encourage them to keep the millage rate revenue-neutral.
- Contest Your property Tax Assessment yourself following these instructions. You can even file an appeal online.
- Hire a professional to file an appeal on your behalf. As with any expert, they will help you avoid expensive mistakes. Please let us know if you’d like a referral.
Properties Purchased Prior to 2017
If the property value has gone up significantly, file an appeal. The cost is between $300 and $500 depending on the value of the property. Because the end value will be frozen for 2 additional years, the probability of making back the initial cash outlay is incredibly high.
Properties Purchased in 2017
Per industry norm, your closing attorney used 2016 taxes to estimate the 2017 tax pro-rations. Buyers can ask sellers to re-prorate, once the actual (not assessed) bills are issued towards the end of the summer/fall. There are rumors that the millage rate may go down to compensate for the changes, but owners may still want to file an appeal to get the benefit of a tax freeze.
Properties Under Contract
If you currently have a property under contract, your agent at Intown Expert will ask the seller to produce a copy of the 2017 Assessment Notice and ask all parties agree to estimate the 2017 tax pro-rations at closing based on this number. While the cost may be higher for sellers, it will prevent buyers from going back to the sellers to request additional monies after closing and avoid big surprises for the sellers long after they have left the property.
Future Sales
Note that appeals run with the property, so both the buyer and seller can benefit from an appeal. However, any tax freeze currently in place does not survive the sale of the property. As a seller, this is something you may want to consider doing if you are currently on the market or considering going on the market.
For more information, contact the Tax Assessors’ Office at (404) 612-6440, option #1.